It’s been over 100 years since Jimmy Harris’ great grandfather Elias Bryan opened the family’s first barbecue restaurant in Oak Cliff. Today, the family business is still thriving in the form of David’s Barbecue located at 2224 West Park Row in Arlington. Harris is now the patriarch in a lineage of barbecue masters that can be dated back 113 years.
To celebrate this milestone Harris will be offering patrons a one-day discount on all his sandwiches at a cost of just $1.30 a piece on February 21. This event will run from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. or until the meat runs out, with a limit of one sandwich per person. The first 113 guests on this date will be treated to Simply Divune’s southern-style bread pudding with the first 113 women receiving fresh roses from Urban Country Flower Co.
According to the David’s Barbecue website, Harris’ great grandfather opened the family's first barbecue restaurant in February of 1910.
“A generation later the tradition continued with Great Uncle Red Bryan and Grandmother Harris,” he says. The third generation of family members to keep this tradition alive included Harris’ father David Bryan Harris and his cousin Sonny, both of whom had their names added to the family business. Harris’ father opened Red Bryan's Barbecue in 1965 on North Collins Street in Arlington. In 1988, after a three-year sabbatical, the Harris family reopened as David's Barbecue on West Park Row in Pantego.
“When dad was elected as Constable Precinct 2, I purchased the business and became the sole proprietor in 1992,” Harris says. “I am proud to be the fourth generation serving authentic Texas Barbecue. So ya'll come by for a visit. We look forward to serving you.”
